The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-11-11
THE FIELD OF LITERATURE
DR.. Jordan. science sketches.

the author OF series or science oketcnes
just issued from the publishing house OF A =.
nj cClurg & Co.. of Chicago. President Jordan
is best known to the world of science by his pa
per fishes, which comprise over 200 titles
Ind 5000 printed pages, mainly IN government.
reports and proceedings OF scientific societies
In this vast labor all the work of the last thirteen
years. he has had the assistance of Prof. G. h.
Gilbert, of tie University of Cincinnati. and be-
tween them they have described over 400 species
new to science. The present volume has little
to do with fishes in any technical way. 1t con-
sists of number of uncorrected sketches and
addresses coming moro or less distinctly under
the head of Popular Science. The .'Story of a
Salmon" the johnny Darters7 and the STORY
of Stone" are three nature serials of piece by
themselves, sui generis. and are read by young
and old alike with all the interest that attaches
to Uncle Remus or TO the tales OF Hans An
derssen.
Prof Herbert E. Copeland is mainly respon-
sible for the Johnny Darter" story. as it pre-
viously appeared in St. Nicholas. The darters
family of little fishes, the most brilliant In
color of the irny tribe, representing every ram
bow hue, and making the brightest forest olrds
and foliage seen plain and dull by comparison
They are very common in Indiana streams. ana
were made special study by Prof. Copeland In
1916 who indeed lost his life from exposure In
collecting Johnny Darters from the w mite river
December 1876. The s'Story OF a Salmon" Is
written in bland and child-like style OF nara
Eion, which is Inimitable, but under the guise
of simplicity it gave the first accurate knowl-
edge of the life history OF this important food
fish known to science. 1t has been popular lect-
ure to young folks. tits the scientific summary
of three mouths study OF the salmon fisher
les of the Columbia river. It's technical counter
part is the essay of fifty pages on 1.-THE Salmon
Family" which is complete history OF the
most important family of food fishes.
The STORY of Stone" is a complete history
of the geological succession, and was suggested
by piece of drift-coral ''petriied honey comb"
brought to President Jordan by pupil when
seaching in the the Appleton high-school. Young
Mckay, the lad who was so curious about
lhs bit of coral drift, followed his teacher to
Butler University, then to the State Uni
versity, graduated, went to Alaska in the gov
Drnment service. and lost his life while collect
ng birds among the Aleutisn islands. But the
)tory of the stone that commenced life as little
Jelly fsh-''in those old days when the great
Northwest consisted of few ragged and tree
less hills full of copper and quartz, bordered by
, dreary waste of sand flats, over which the
Eulf of Mexico rolled its warm and turbid waters
rs far north as Escanaba and Eau Claire; when
the tide of the Pacific swept over
Plymouth Rock, and surged up against Bunker
HlP-still perpetuates Mckavs memory In the
most charming and Instructive geological
romance in the English language. 1t has been
widely copied in educational journals. and is
read daily by thousands of children in Sheldon's
series of school readers.
Three of President JordaE's school institute
and college lectures have permanent form in
this volume: IAN Ascent of the Matterhorn." q
charming bit of mountain romance, spiced with
enough of peril to keep the reader IN almost
constant fear. This adventure mas been recited
n hundred times before Indiana audiences and
while the least valuable of the series, has proven
the most popular.
OF far more interest to botanists and biologists
Is the essay '1An Eccentric Naturalist"
Constantine Samuel Rafinesque, "who seventy
years ago crossed the falls of the Ohio into In
diana, the first student OF Western fishes"
Rafnesque was monomaniac on new species
He saw the tendency of diverging varieties TO
form new species. and was as eager to antici-
pate nature and his fellow botanists well,
that he gave new names to each variety he
found until he had described twice many
fishes, plants and shells really exis ted in the
regions over which he travelled He once sent
paper for publication seriously describing twelve
new species of thunder and lightning which he
had observed the falls of the Ohio" This
brought the good work he did into discredit; but
to Agassiz and Jordan is due the merit of hav-
ing recognized his great value to science, and
the latter has restored such of his of
fishes as are good to their place in Systematic
iehthyology. Strange, uncouth, suspicious by
nature, loving man woman, Rafnesque
died unnoticed and was buried by stealth by a
few loving friends, to save his bones being sold
to a medical college to pay his garrett rent. His
'Ichthyology Ohiensis" now sells for fifty dol
lars. and of his weird but enhancing biography
only the copy in the Library of Congress is
known. But he was the friend of Owen and
Mcclure, at their New Harmony experiment.
and his work on plants and fishes was the first
that Europe and the East had from Indiana.
and his name Is now rescued from obloquy and
dishonor.
The most important scientific paper in this
book is the one relating to the dispersion of
Fresh-water Fishes" 1t is a profound study of
the conditions under which fishes now live, such
as climate, photographic basins, kind of water,
bottom, current. ETC.; the causes which have
produced variation in the pasS-as the gradual
growth of the continent. mountain upheavals,
sea invasions. glacial period and the like-and
finally a standardization of the characters and
possible origin of each of the thrty-four natural
families, including nearly 600 species, of the
fresh water fishes of North America This essay
lies along the line of work done by Darwin and
Wallace
Agassiz, Coke and Gunther have each made
some CONGRATULATIONS as to distribution of fishes,
but only until a great part OF the waters of in
terror North America had been seined and their
fishes classified could anything more than guess
work be accomplished. There need be no hest
tation in stating that President Jordan has
force and done more toward its solution, if that
be possible. than any other worker who has
confined himself to any single group of animals
Aside from its bearing on evolution and nature
of species, the economic value of this work is or
great moment; but that is to the naturalist an
incidental and subordinate question. Such
work is not done with reference to buttering of
parsnips.
The closing essay of this book on the "Evolu-
ton of the College Curriculum" as also the es
say on Darwin. has not hitherto been published.
It's authors evidently much at home with the
deep problem of college education as with
children's science stories and the vexed problem
of animal evolution and distribution. He is at
the head of the educational system of Indi-
ana and has passed up easily from the rank of
hGh-school teacher, and therefore speaks with
the authority of observation and experience.
Presid ent Jordan has uttered the best word that
has ever been said on this important subject. It
is plea for culture rather than bachelors de-
grees. 1.-THE high schools are in the patch
work era; they try to be- universities in small
way" He would make their work less, and
more thorough. The book closes with ap-
pendix giving the titles and places of publica-
ton of the pa papers issued by President Jor-
dan since 1872. These vary from page only to
volumes of over a thousand pages.
New Books.
1.-THE Missing Sense. and the Hidden Things
which it Might Reveal. Spiritual E philosophy
Treated on Rational Basis, by DR.. G. ". Wood
bridge. The main purpose of this work is to
show, from observed fact and necessary reason,
the existence and reality of spiritual intelligence
apart from matter. On tbs same basis the
author examines the functions aud scope of